Happy Birth-Day, Date Night In

Intro

Today is the day that makes the book officially a full-fledged book; it’s publication day.

I’m not quite sure what I expected this day to feel like but so far it feels very normal. I’m still in my pajamas sitting on the couch with three little ones surrounding me being entertained by various means (mostly technology related) and the house is completely cluttered with the remains of the holidays.

And in other ways it is completely abnormal. Today I’m a published author. I wrote a book that is sitting on shelves all over the country so anyone could potentially walk over to the book, read some of my most personal thoughts and glance over the recipes that fed my relationship over the last couple of years, then hopefully they’d buy it (or multiple copies) and tell all their friends about it. Or they could go to Amazon and write a scathing review. Somehow either option makes me terrified.

What helps with all that terror are the amazing comments, texts, emails, and photos I see of the book on Instagram. It is such an incredible feeling to see something I’ve spent over three years on finally out in the world, being used, read and loved. So thank you. There are so many words but I’m having a hard time finding them in the midst of the fear, pride, anticipation, exhaustion, and downright giddiness that apparently accompanies one’s pub date.

So rather than a lot of words I thought we’d celebrate the day with a recipe from the book. It’s a favorite of ours (honestly, they all are) that is not only perfect for a date night but really for any night and as an added bonus, it’s pretty healthy too. If you’re like me, after all those cookies, cocktails and cream-filled dishes a broth-based, vegetal, stew-like soup is just what is needed. The bonus of this soup is that you can practically build a salad of cilantro, radish, avocado, and onion right on top.

But before that, a few housekeeping items. I’ll just go ahead and put these here:

Also, if you are in Seattle I believe there still are a few tickets to our Date Night In at Delancey dinner. Check out BookLarder.com for more informations and tickets.

PORTLAND – don’t make any Valentine’s plans, I’ve got you covered. More soon!

And this is for those of you in LA and NYC: I’ve had to postpone my trip to see you all as we’ve come across a bit of a book shortage (thanks for all the orders!!) but I can’t wait to see you in March! Details coming soon.

Okay. Enough. Go make some Pozole and let’s all raise a glass to a beautiful start to 2015. Thanks, as always, for being here.

Roasted Green Pozole with Chicken

By the time our date rolls around, the sun is nearly set and there’s a slight chill in the air that makes this roasted, fragrant stew a perfect late-summer (or anytime, really) evening meal. It’s vibrant and fresh yet pleasantly hearty from roasted and ground pepitas.The original recipe comes from Gourmet magazine, but I’ve since made many changes throughout its life in our home.The biggest change being the pan-roasting of the tomatillos and garlic, which gives the soup a soft smokiness and a bit more complexity.

Grind the pepitas and cumin seeds in a spice grinder or blender until finely ground.

Add 1 tablespoon oil to a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

When the oil is hot, add the tomatillos, garlic, onion, and jalapeño to the pot, along with a pinch of salt. Roast in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are charred, caramelized in parts, and tender.

Carefully transfer the roasted vegetables to a food processor or blender and process along with 1⁄4 cup / 5 g chopped cilantro and 1 teaspoon salt.

Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pot over medium heat. Return the purée to the pot and cook, stirring frequently until thickened, for 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape up the deeply flavored browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Stir in the ground pepitas and cumin seeds, along with the oregano and 1 cup / 240 ml stock. Bring to a simmer and then add the remaining 11⁄2 cups / 360 ml stock, chicken, and hominy.

Let this simmer, mostly covered, for 20 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1⁄4 cup / 5 g chopped cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding more salt if you feel it needs it. I prefer the pozole to be thick, like a stew, but if you want it thinner, add more stock. Pozole can be made 1 to 3 days in advance, and in fact the flavor improves after a rest in the fridge. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.

Congratulations Ashley! I was so excited to open the box that arrived on my doorstep the other day. I can’t wait to start cooking from your gorgeous book, obviously a labor of love! Enjoy celebrating, and Happy New Year!

I pre-ordered a signed copy and got it a week/10 days ago – I’ve spent the past week poring over the recipes, reading the stories, and admiring the photos – thanks for a great addition to my frequently-used cookbooks! My kids are grown and the house is nearly empty, and I’m thinking it’s past time to institute a date night in for my husband and me, using your book as a starter. 🙂

Congratulations on producing a very nice product – it’s cute, full of fun pictures, and I can’t wait to get started on the recipes. Happy New Year, Ashley!

Ashley,
I am so impressed by your book. Truly, it’s rare for me to get a cookbook that feels both so personal and inspiring — that tugs at my emotions and makes me want to cook from it every day…and flip through it before bed. Congratulations. I hope to see more of you and your fam in 2015. xo

Congrats, Ashley! How exciting that your book has made it to print! I keep meaning to head down the street and meet you in person at your cookie shop/office. One of these days… I met Gabe a few weeks back when I bought some cookie mix. Hope the new year is treating you well!

Ashley- first I have never taken time to send an author an email about his or her book, but yours touched me in a way that I so needed. I just finished reading it cover to cover, and all I can say is that it is the most beautiful book I have ever read. And not because of the beautiful photos or the amazing sounding recipes. Your genuine desire to love your husband …. oh, please let me love my husband half that much! Thank you for this wonderful gift. I can’t wait to share these recipes with my husband and rebuild our connection!!!

CONGRATULATIONS ASHLEY! I’m sorta new to your blog, but loving your recipes and your backstory and can’t wait to check out your new book! Enjoy the whirlwind that is the life of a published (wildly successful!) author!

I just wanted to update and say that we made this last night for dinner and it was fantastic!! My hubby took a bite and said, “Oh, this is a 10.” (He’s a tough critic, so that’s high praise!) The only thing we’re bummed about is that we didn’t make more so we’d have more leftovers!

Kindled and already read. I found you because of Megan Gordon and Molly Wizenberg. Your recipes look fantastic, and I loved your stories. I found your blog through the book, and can’t wait to explore.

Thank you for painting a realistic picture of marriage. So many bloggers and writers think that they need to paint pictures of fairy tails and perfection when they write about their relationships. I don’t know if that is because they equate struggle with failure, or if it’s just not their style of writing. Personally I become a little depressed when I am immersed in people’s perfection, when I’m so well acquainted with the mundane…

I so appreciated the fact that your book reflected good times and hard times, and that you highlighted the amount of work that goes into a marriage. In my own life, I have found that my marriage has brought me my lowest lows and my highest highs. But making it through the hard times make the good ones so much more rewarding…kind of like that first 70 degree day after a bleak winter.

Biggest congratulations to you on the publication of your book! That must be so incredibly exciting and rewarding! I’ve seen so many references to Date Night In through instagram lately, and cannot wait to get a copy for myself!

I’m late to the party – I just discovered your blog a couple of weeks ago, after reading a blog post with some recipes from Date Night In on glamour.com.

I decided to order your book, and first off, let me say it’s beautiful! I love the cover and the pictures inside. I’ve been wanting to be a better cook and just “create” more in general but my office job has taken most of my time, and I’m exhausted when I get home. But after reading your posts and seeing how you MAKE time for creating something special and spending time with your husband (and you have kids, which I’m sure is more of a handful than any work I’m dealing with! My husband and I are newlyweds so we’re not quite there yet :)) I’m inspired to do the same!

I tried the brownie recipe and it was awesome! I documented the first attempt on my blog, which is still pretty rough around the edges and new, but all I can say is thank you for inspiring me to go for it – cooking, loving life and following my passion for writing!

P.S. After reading only the first few pages of Date Night In, I actually got teary! My husband and I met in the first year of college as well and your story reminds me of ours in a lot of ways!

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